Rosie Perez

Rosie Perez was the daughter of Lydia Perez, a merchant marine and Ismael Serano. She was born in Bushwick Brooklyn, New York City. Rosie is Puerto Rican. Rosie was a student at Grover Cleveland High School in Ridgewood, Queens, New York She then went on to enroll in Los Angeles City College in Los Angeles, California. Rosie Perez was in her second year of college, and was about to relocate back to New York from Los Angeles. She was invited to a moving-away celebration by her classmates. She accepted Spike Lee's invitation to join his film Do the Right Thing (1989). This would be her first major acting part. She was later nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Carla Rodrigo (Peter Weir’s Fearless 1993). She lost to Anna Paquin, for The Piano (1993). In my early days, the Latin community was the one responsible for much of the criticism I received. They would take me out to lunch and ask me, "Can I go and learn lessons to lessen my accent?" or "Can you be funny and loud during a talk show?" The people were so critical of my voice, they dealt me a lot to be angry about. Though I attempted to alter my voice, it wasn't the way I spoke. Thank Godthat my octaves decreased as became older. Boxing is all about beating your fears. It's about being confident. Floyd Mayweather could get punched with a clean punch down the middle and to his face and he wouldn't flinch. It's a good thing I understand what he's doing. [Who spoke about Don Cornelius watching her dancingand observing her dancing]: Don Cornelius didn't want to watch me dance. I was performing hip hop which was something that was not known to Californians. They knew only about locking and popping, which is why they weren't interested in hip-hop dancing. Don was saying, "No, no, no. You're a woman. I thought, "What? It's very bizarre. It was truly bizarre.